Microsoft Paint Dips Its Brush In AI Art With DALL-E Integration

Your Microsoft Paint sketches will no longer look like they were drawn with your non-dominant foot. Racing to catch up with other image creation pioneers, the company is introducing Paint Cocreator, bringing your artistic visions to life on Microsoft Paint from text prompts.

Paint Cocreator is powered by DALL-E, which is spearheaded by the Microsoft-backed OpenAI.

Windows will roll out access to this formidable feature gradually. Interested users will need to join a waitlist by signing in with their Microsoft account and clicking the new ‘Cocreator’ button in the toolbar.

Once in, fire up Microsoft Paint and click on the Cocreator icon in the toolbar. A side panel will appear, where you can enter a brief description—the more specific, the better—of your desired image. For example, you can type in “a blue unicorn overlooking a shimmering lake” or “a playful dog donning a hotdog costume” and watch these visuals being conjured up by the app.

Prompt: “a little cute pirate, running, colorful, digital painting, ultra detailed, blue gradient playground” in an oil painting style. Image via Microsoft

If you want, you can also select an art style. Once you’re ready, hit the ‘Create’ button, and Paint Cocreator will generate three unique variations of your artwork. You can then choose your favorite and add it to your canvas.

The addition comes on the heels of Microsoft bringing multiple layer and transparent PNG support to Paint. This means you can generate illustrations on the legacy painting software and finish them effortlessly using non-destructive layers all in one app.

AI-generated graphic of a cat, interwoven with multiple layers. Image via Windows Insider Blog

For those who have signed up for the preview, you’ll know you have access when you receive an email notification from Microsoft. To kickstart your generative art process, the company will provide you with 50 initial credits. Each credit lets you create a new set of images, and the balance is displayed in the bottom right corner of the Cocreator pane.

To prevent the creation of unwanted or harmful imagery, the tool incorporates content filtering and safeguards. Microsoft says it is also actively fine-tuning the experience based on real-world usage and feedback.

For now, Cocreator will be available to Windows Insiders in the United States, Canada, UK, France, Australia, Italy, and Germany in the English language.

[via How-To Geek and ZDNET, images via Microsoft]